Willian revival mission keeps Fulham on road to make history

After five years of playing snakes and ladders, oscillating between the Premier League and Championship, new horizons are opening up for Fulham. Rather than look down, the club can look elsewhere: both up the league and to the best days in their history.

In the top tier, under whatever incarnation, Fulham have never amassed more than the 53 points that Roy Hodgson’s side won in 2008/09. After this 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, Fulham now need 19 points from 15 games to overhaul that number. Safely ensconced on 35 points – exceeding their entire season’s tally during their last three Premier League campaigns – Fulham are now in seventh, matching the feat of Hodgson’s side in 2009. That season was the prelude to Fulham’s stirring run to the Europa League final; seventh place could well lead to European football once again.

This win, like most before it this season, was marked by the simple cohesiveness of Fulham’s attack, the sense of a well-grooved team who are in sync. It was detectable in Aleksander Mitrovic’s link-up play, which renders him crucial even during this five-game streak without a Premier League goal.

 It was detectable in how well Bobby Decordova-Reid and Kenny Tete interacted on the right. And it was detectable in Andreas Pereira’s passing, which brought late reward when he teed-up substitute Manor Solomon for a game-clinching second goal.

Most of all, it was detectable in Willian. Those accustomed to watching Arsenal in 2020/21 remember Willian as a ghost in attack, his influence scarcely extending beyond a fine display at Craven Cottage on his debut. But, aged 34, Willian is a player transformed. He has formed a firm rapport with Antonee Robinson on Fulham’s left, often drifting inside to allow Robinson to overlap.

Willian’s agility and two-footedness means that he can beat defenders on both sides. Renan Lodi learned as much in the 17^th minute. First Willian cut outside with his right foot, leaving Lodi marooned on the floor. Then, he switched inside, taking the ball on to his left foot – nominally, his slightly weaker foot – and curled the ball into the top corner to beat Keylor Navas. 

Over Navas’s first two games for Forest since signing from Paris Saint-Germain it has felt like it requires close to perfection to beat him. Not content with a goal from outside the area with his left foot, Willian later hit the post with an attempt with his right foot too.